Campaign Reminds Companies to Remember ‘Mother Nature in the Boardroom’

The moving short film, featuring Dr. Jane Goodall as the voice of Mother Nature, highlights the urgent need for decision-makers to keep the planet at the heart of economic discussions.

Published 11 hours ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Sea Change Project

As the world grapples with escalating biodiversity loss, a new campaign from the nonprofit Sea Change Project aims to remind businesses of nature’s critical role in their survival.

"Mother Nature in the Boardroom" — centered around a moving short film by acclaimed environmentalist, filmmaker and Sea Change Project co-founder Craig Foster (My Octopus Teacher), featuring world-renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall as the voice of Mother Nature — was unveiled during Climate Week NYC. It highlights the urgent need for decision-makers to place the planet at the heart of economic discussions.

“How do you propose to have a sustainable economic plan without a real biodiversity plan?” Mother Nature asks. “Neglecting to invest in me, as the provider of your natural capital, is dangerous. You cannot keep drawing down on me without getting into debt — a debt that threatens all life.”

Ever since COP15 Biodiversity Summit in 2022, we’ve seen a growing awareness of the connection between healthy biodiversity and a healthy world — and therefore, healthy businesses. This realization has spawned a host of corporate and government strategies for achieving the Summit’s goal of halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 — and a corresponding explosion in research, tools, science-based target frameworks, coalitions and financial mechanisms aimed at helping companies understand, quantify and offset their impacts on the natural world.

"Mother Nature in the Boardroom" renews attention to the imperative for widespread action to ensure that Mother Nature is given a voice in the boardroom, alongside corporate and political leaders making critical decisions. The campaign ties into the mission of the International Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS) — an emerging body that aims to support States in accelerating the sustainable management and conservation of the ocean through actionable pathways and inclusive stakeholder engagement. The project is currently being led by a European consortium, "Towards IPOS.” Supported by the European Commission and several countries, the IPOS concept is evolving through broad consultations — with the goal of presenting a final concept at the third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025 for consideration.

"Mother Nature in the Boardroom" is the latest campaign that drives home the vital role of nature by personifying Mother Nature herself: Conservation International’s powerful 2014 “Nature Is Speaking” series featured Julia Roberts as Mother Nature, reminding the people of the world: “I’ve fed species greater than you, and I have starved species greater than you. … Your actions will determine your fate, not mine.”

And in 2023, Mother Nature — played by Octavia Spencer — dropped in for an update from Apple’s environmental team on whether the tech giant is fulfilling its 2020 promise to eliminate its entire carbon footprint by 2030: